Americans United - President Barack Obamahttp://www.au.org/tags/president-barack-obama
enIs Discrimination The Price We’ll Pay For Trump’s HHS Secretary?http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/is-discrimination-the-price-we-ll-pay-for-trump-s-hhs-secretary
<a href="/about/people/maggie-garrett">Maggie Garrett</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Today, President-elect Donald Trump named yet another troubling pick for his cabinet: he’s tapped U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). </p>
<p>HHS is responsible for implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as well as many vital social service programs including those for early-childhood education and adoption and foster care. While Price’s nomination will be controversial because of his clear desire to fully dismantle the ACA, those who support religious freedom should also have concerns.</p>
<p>Religious freedom is a fundamental American value that guarantees us the right to believe – or not – as we see fit. Price’s flawed view of religious freedom, however, seeks to use religion as an excuse to harm others. </p>
<p>Here’s a quick take on what’s at stake for women and LGBTQ individuals if Price becomes HHS Secretary.</p>
<p><em>Insurance Coverage for Contraception:</em> Even if Price doesn’t oversee the full dismantling of the ACA, he is poised to repeal the regulations that ensure that more than 55 million women have insurance coverage for contraception without out-of-pocket costs.</p>
<p>This policy was adopted to improve access to often-expensive birth control, which is vital to women’s health and equality. Showing no understanding of the real lives of women, Price has wrongly <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/07/31/free_birth_control_for_many_american_women_it_starts_tomorrow_.html">claimed</a> that there’s “not one woman” who can’t afford birth control. And perhaps more troubling, Price <a href="https://rewire.news/article/2016/11/21/trump-top-hhs-pick-thinks-theres-not-one-woman-who-cant-afford/">claims</a> that the contraception coverage provision is a “trampling of religious freedom and religious liberty in this country.”</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/files/b%20control.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 530px;" /></p>
<p><em>Women's access to affordable birth control could take a hit with Tom Price heading the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. </em></p>
<p>Of course, the contraception provision doesn’t actually violate religious freedom – employers shouldn’t be allowed to use religion to ignore laws designed to ensure women have access to vital healthcare.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the Obama Administration <a href="http://www.protectthyneighbor.org/the-evolution-of-the-contraceptive-coverage-regulations">already went above and beyond</a> what was needed to address misguided complaints that the contraception coverage rule violates religious freedom. First, <a href="http://www.protectthyneighbor.org/the-evolution-of-the-contraceptive-coverage-regulations#Exemption">houses of worship</a> are fully exempt and do not have to provide insurance coverage for contraception. In addition, closely held corporations and non-profits <a href="http://www.protectthyneighbor.org/the-evolution-of-the-contraceptive-coverage-regulations#Accommodation">can also escape</a> providing this coverage by simply filling out a form saying they have a religious objection. Their employees will still get insurance coverage, but from the insurance company rather than the objecting employer. </p>
<p>That did not satisfy Price, who signed a <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/207-Members-of-Congress-Amicus-Brief.pdf">brief</a> before the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that even the act of filling out that simple form violates an employer’s religious beliefs.</p>
<p>A repeal of the contraception benefit would seriously harm women’s health and equality. Price’s views raise additional concerns about whether he would try to use religion to justify undermining other important healthcare benefits on which many people rely.</p>
<p><em>Basic LGBTQ Civil Rights:</em> Price has also argued that religion is justification for denying non-discrimination protections for LGBT people.</p>
<p>Price is a co-sponsor of the misleadingly named <a href="http://www.protectthyneighbor.org/first-amendment-defense-acts/">“First Amendment Defense Act”</a> (FADA). This <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2802/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22%5C%22hr2802%5C%22%22%5D%7D">bill</a> would allow businesses, private individuals, and even taxpayer-funded social service providers and government employees to ignore any laws that conflict with a “religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman” or that sex outside of such a marriage is sinful.</p>
<p>Under FADA, an HHS employee who provides nursing care to underserved and disadvantaged populations and opposes marriage for same-sex couples could refuse to allow a patient’s spouse to visit him in a clinic. Or the director of a Head Start program (a federally funded program to promote the school readiness of children under 5 from low-income families) could refuse to admit a child because his mother is unmarried or divorced.</p>
<p>In addition, Price called the Obama Administration’s “Guidance to Help Schools Ensure the Civil Rights of Transgender Students” “<a href="http://www.projectq.us/atlanta/transgender_bathroom_backlash_grows_in_georgia?gid=17800">absurd</a>,” co-sponsored a <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/house-joint-resolution/22/cosponsors">constitutional amendment</a> to ban marriage for same-sex couples and opposed employment protections for LGBT workers.</p>
<p>Price’s record calls into question how he will enforce HHS’s <a href="http://www.hhs.gov/about/index.html">mission</a> “to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans,” including the ACA’s <a href="http://www.protectthyneighbor.org/2015-federal-legislation/2016/5/19/americans-uniteds-aca-comments-to-department-of-health-and-human-services">critical civil rights protections</a>. The ACA prohibits discrimination in health programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability – including important non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people and women. </p>
<p>Price’s view of religious freedom is not only wrong, but it could cause serious harm if he is confirmed as HHS secretary.</p>
<p> </p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-refusals-and-rfra">Religious Refusals and RFRA</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tom-price">Tom Price</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/department-health-and-human-services">Department of Health and Human Services</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/first-amendment-defense-act-fada">First Amendment Defense Act (FADA)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lgbtq-rights">LGBTQ Rights</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/affordable-care-act">Affordable Care Act</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/birth-control">birth control</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/president-barack-obama">President Barack Obama</a></span></div></div>Tue, 29 Nov 2016 13:52:07 +0000Rob Boston12498 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/is-discrimination-the-price-we-ll-pay-for-trump-s-hhs-secretary#commentsIntolerant Of Tolerance?: Critics Question Obama’s Call For Inclusionhttp://www.au.org/church-state/march-2016-church-state/editorial/intolerant-of-tolerance-critics-question-obama-s-call
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>President Barack Obama last month made a goodwill visit to a mosque in Baltimore. It was the first time Obama had visited an Islamic center on U.S. soil.</p><p>During remarks at the mosque, Obama reminded Americans of the importance of religious freedom. He noted that Muslims have been living in America from the beginnings of the country and spoke against hateful rhetoric directed against Muslims today.</p><p>“We can’t be bystanders to bigotry,” Obama said, “Together, we’ve got to show that America truly protects all faiths. As we protect our country from terrorism, we should not reinforce the ideas and the rhetoric of the terrorists themselves.”</p><p>For some reason, the visit bothered U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination.</p><p>“I’m tired of being divided against each other for political reasons like this president’s done,” Rubio said. “Always pitting people against each other. Always. Look at today – he gave a speech at a mosque. Oh, you know, basically implying that America is discriminating against Muslims.”</p><p>The Muslims who have seen their mosques vandalized or who’ve had to fight in court to win the right to even construct such facilities would probably disagree with Rubio about the extent of Islamophobia in the United States.</p><p>Rubio also overlooks the fact that President George W. Bush in 2001 visited a mosque and said many of the same things that Obama did. Bush went to the mosque just days after the Sept. 11 attacks in an effort to tamp down anti-Muslim hysteria that had erupted. Bush remarked, “The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. Islam is peace.”</p><p>Although it’s increasingly difficult for the president to be a unifier in these partisan times, Obama continues to try. At a time when other aspiring political leaders are calling for profiling and surveillance of Muslims and even limits on their ability to travel in America, the president is to be commended for offering another approach, one that is in line with our nation’s founding principles of religious freedom and tolerance.</p><p>It is rather remarkable to see a political leader get attacked for asking Americans to be tolerant and to treat one another decently. Yet that is where we are today. Some prominent people are urging Americans to embrace not our core values but fear.</p><p>That is indeed a paucity of vision and leadership. The nation deserves better.</p></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Editorial</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-11780" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/anti-muslim-bigotry">anti-Muslim bigotry</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/religious-intolerance">Religious Intolerance</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/president-barack-obama">President Barack Obama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/mosques">mosques</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/muslims">Muslims</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/sen-marco-rubio">Sen. Marco Rubio</a></span></div></div>Tue, 01 Mar 2016 05:00:01 +0000Timothy Ritz11789 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/church-state/march-2016-church-state/editorial/intolerant-of-tolerance-critics-question-obama-s-call#commentsArmed And Dangerous?: Falwell Suggests That LU Students Get Guns To Fend Off ‘Those Muslims’http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/armed-and-dangerous-falwell-suggests-that-lu-students-get-guns-to-fend-off
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Jerry Falwell Jr. is essentially urging young people who may have had no training in firearms to buy guns and wear them around campus in case Muslim terrorists attack.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>I sometimes help out with logistics when Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn is traveling for a speech or a debate. I’m used to people asking me what hotel chains Barry prefers or what he likes to eat, but in September when Barry was debating Religious Right attorney Mat Staver at Liberty University, I got a question I hadn’t heard before: The folks at Liberty wanted to know if Barry or anyone traveling with him would be armed. The school had no objection to Barry or a member of his party carrying a concealed weapon, they just wanted to know beforehand.</p><p>I’ll admit I was a little taken aback. I guess I shouldn’t have been. Nor am I surprised by recent comments by Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/05/us/liberty-university-urges-armed-students/">who has recommended</a> that students at the school carry concealed weapons so “we could end those Muslims before they walk in and kill.”</p><p>It’s always disturbing to hear someone who holds himself out to be a Christian leader speak so casually of killing others, and Falwell has admitted that he could have used less inflammatory language. As President Barack Obama reminded the nation last night, it’s terrorists we’re fighting, not all Muslims.</p><p>Falwell’s comments came in the wake of the recent mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., where a married couple murdered 14 people and wounded many more. It has since been revealed that the couple, who were Muslims, were likely radicalized and had become enamored of the terrorist group ISIS.</p><p>Gun control is not a church-state issue, and Americans United takes no stand on it. I’m sure that some of our members own guns for sport and self-defense. I also know that responsible gun owners (like my late father, who was an avid hunter) recognize the importance of proper firearms training.</p><p>In Virginia, people seeking concealed-carry permits aren’t required to demonstrate any proficiency with a weapon or even show that they know how to use one. They can go to a shooting range and learn to use a weapon if they like, but there is another option: They can take a gun safety course online and pass a short test. This can be done in as little as 10 minutes without ever touching a gun. A <a href="http://www.concealed-carry.net/faq.php#2">number of companies</a> offer these classes for a small fee, and they pretty much guarantee that anyone can pass.</p><p>Think about this for a minute: Falwell is essentially urging young people who may have had no training in firearms to buy guns and wear them around campus in case Muslim terrorists attack.</p><p>Now think about this: In San Bernardino, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik wore body armor and were armed with high-power, semi-automatic assault rifles. What chance would a 21-year-old student with a handgun that he or she may have rarely if ever used stand against them?</p><p>In cop shows and movies, clever heroes often overcome impossible odds, outwit terrorists and save the day. In real life, you’re much more likely to end up getting mowed down. Only a very foolish person would confuse big-screen fantasy with real-world outcomes.</p><p>My son is a high-school senior and is applying to colleges for the fall. Of course Liberty University was never on his list, but as we’ve gone through the process, I’ve talked with a lot of parents who are diligently helping their kids find just the right school.</p><p>I don’t know if any of them are looking at Liberty for their sons and daughters, but if they are, they might want to reconsider. I hear the president there is a bit of a bigot – and rather ill-informed to boot.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/jerry-falwell-jr-0">Jerry Falwell Jr.</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/liberty-university">Liberty University</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/syed-rizwan-farook">Syed Rizwan Farook</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tashfeen-malik">Tashfeen Malik</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/president-barack-obama">President Barack Obama</a></span></div></div>Mon, 07 Dec 2015 15:33:13 +0000Rob Boston11595 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/armed-and-dangerous-falwell-suggests-that-lu-students-get-guns-to-fend-off#commentsHow Do You Get Policy Change In Washington?: Persistence, Persistence, Persistencehttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/how-do-you-get-policy-change-in-washington-persistence-persistence
<a href="/about/people/maggie-garrett">Maggie Garrett</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Change may be coming to the &#039;faith-based&#039; initiative. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>When President George W. Bush took office, his administration set about to change the rules for how the federal government funds faith-based organizations to perform social services, like running soup kitchens, job training programs and homeless shelters. He established the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, which worked with agencies across the federal government to weaken the longstanding church-state protections that had applied to these programs. Unfortunately for religious freedom, the effort was successful and almost every social service program funded by the government was subject to these new, lax rules. </p><p>We were <a href="https://www.au.org/church-state/march-2009-church-state/featured/faith-based-initiative-20">disappointed</a> when the President Barack Obama decided to maintain this office (<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2008/07/obama-to-rename-bushs-faith-office-011462">albeit with a different name</a>), but we were optimistic after he <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2009-02-09/pdf/E9-2893.pdf">promised</a> to reform the Bush-era regulations and improve their “constitutional footing.” That was 2009. Since then:</p><p>*The President signed an <a href="http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=ACF_FRDOC_0001-0058">executive order</a> that created a Presidential Advisory Council to recommend reforms.</p><p>*The Advisory Council appointed a Task Force to craft the recommendations (AU’s Barry Lynn was a member of the Task Force).</p><p>*The Advisory Council <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/ofbnp-council-final-report.pdf">reported</a> these recommendations to the President.</p><p>*The President signed a second <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-11-22/pdf/2010-29579.pdf">Executive Order</a> adopting many of the Advisory Council’s recommendations and creating an Interagency Working Group to propose how agencies should implement the Executive Order.</p><p>*The Working Group issued a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/finalfaithbasedworkinggroupreport.pdf">report</a>.</p><p>*The President <a href="http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/obama-appoints-church-state-law-expert-to-head-faith-based-office/?_r=0">appointed</a> a new Executive Director for the White House Office who had served as the chair of the Advisory Council and was committed to finishing the process.</p><p>*The Office of Management and Budget issued a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2013/m-13-19.pdf">report</a>, reconvening the Working Group to do more work.</p><p>And finally, after six years and hundreds of hours of advocacy from AU and our allies, the administration has finally <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/08/05/promoting-common-ground-reforms-social-service-partnerships">proposed new rules</a> to fix many – although surely not all – of the problems with the existing regulations.</p><p>Yesterday, Americans United filed formal comments to all nine proposed regulations. As chair of the Coalition Against Religious Discrimination, we organized <a href="https://www.au.org/files/All%20Nine%20CARD%20Comments_0.pdf">comments on behalf of 30 other member organizations</a>. We also submitted <a href="https://www.au.org/files/Comments%20to%20all%20Nine%20Federal%20Agencies_0.pdf">comments on behalf of Americans United</a>, discussing Barry’s role on the Task Force that helped the Council develop the reform recommendations. </p><p>The new agency rules would implement many key religious liberty protections, including most importantly, for those who benefit from the government-funded social services. These include regulations that:</p><p>*Prohibit organizations from discriminating against those seeking government services because of their religious beliefs or lack of religious beliefs;</p><p>*Clarify that organizations cannot include explicitly religious activities in their federally funded programs;</p><p>*Require organizations to inform social service beneficiaries of their rights; and</p><p>*Call on social service providers to refer beneficiaries to alternative providers if they object to the providers’ religious character.</p><p>All of these changes are positive and are what we’ve long advocated for. Thus, our comments express support for these regulations and the agencies’ work. Yet, we also suggest many ways in which the administration could strengthen the rules they are proposing.</p><p>The regulations also have one glaring omission: they do nothing to end the Bush-era hiring policies that allow faith-based organizations to take taxpayer money to perform social services <em>and</em> discriminate in hiring with those same dollars. When running for president, then-Senator Obama <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/us/politics/01obama-text.html?pagewanted=all">promised </a>to end this Bush hiring policy. Yet, as president, he took the issue of ending this harmful policy off the table for this reform process. As a result, the administration still sanctions taxpayer-funded employment discrimination.</p><p>In August, we, along with 129 other national organizations, signed a <a href="https://www.au.org/files/2015-08-20%20-%20OLC%20Memo%20Letter%20to%20President-FINAL_2.pdf">letter </a>asking the president to take steps to end the policy that permits such hiring discrimination. We will, of course, continue to persistently advocate against this.</p><p>In the meantime, we thank the agencies for their work on these reforms and look forward to when the new rules with their critical religious liberty protections will finally be in place.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers">The Faith-Based Initiative &amp; Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providers</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-based-initiative">faith-based initiative</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/coalition-against-religious-discrimination">Coalition Against Religious Discrimination</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/president-george-w-bush">President George W. Bush</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/president-barack-obama">President Barack Obama</a></span></div></div>Tue, 06 Oct 2015 17:05:30 +0000Rob Boston11466 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/how-do-you-get-policy-change-in-washington-persistence-persistence#commentsA Decade Of Disgrace: Marking Ten Years Of The ‘Values Voter Summit’http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/a-decade-of-disgrace-marking-ten-years-of-the-values-voter-summit
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The Values Voter Summit marks 10 years of extremism. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>The annual Values Voter Summit (VVS), the nation’s largest gathering of the Religious Right, begins today. The event, sponsored by the Family Research Council (FRC), the American Family Association (AFA) and other far-right groups, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. In light of that, I thought it might be interesting to look back at some of the highlights (or lowlights, if you will) of this event.</p><p>Here we go:</p><p><strong>2005:</strong> The event, then known as the “Washington Briefing,” kicks off with a modest crowd of about 300 attendees. Top Republican leaders such as then Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) exhort attendees to do all they can to elect more Republicans – even though the FRC holds status as a tax-exempt, non-profit entity. Among the speakers is Bishop Wellington Boone, a pastor who tells the crowd that church-state separation is a myth because “God owns the church and state.” Boone goes on to say that when people accuse him of being extreme, he replies, “I can see through you; I know that behind you is your father the devil.”</p><p><strong>2006:</strong> The event, now known as the Values Voter Summit, sparks controversy after Connie Marshner, a long-time political organizer for the far right, advises attendees to engage in deception to find out how their neighbors plan to vote. Marshner distributes an 18-page manual that recommends that activists use church directories and phone people, posing as pollster to learn which candidate they are supporting. When an attendee asks Marshner what the caller should say if asked if he or she was using a church list, she replies, “I haven’t heard a perfect answer to that question. It’s a delicate answer.” Later, incendiary right-wing columnist Ann Coulter calls liberals a “treason lobby.”</p><p><strong>2007:</strong> A sense of uncertainty pervades the Summit as attendees split over which GOP candidate to support for president in 2008. Serial adulterer Newt Gingrich receives a hero’s welcome, and failed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork warns attendees that Republicans must win the White House in 2008 because, “The Democrats are determined to appoint activist judges who will enact, as if it were constitutional doctrine, the liberal-left agenda.” At a closing banquet, country singer Lee Greenwood serenades Focus on the Family founder James Dobson with a song by Elton John (who is gay). Dobson rants for an hour about the “evil” of progressive politics and warns people that if states keep legalizing same-sex marriage, gays will “spread all across the country and establish families” and “marriage as we know it will be gone.”</p><p><strong>2008:</strong> Attendance at the Summit hits 2,000. Perkins and others are embarrassed when the Associated Press reports that a Summit vendor had to be ejected for selling “Obama waffle mix” – a product that contains a racist drawing of Barack Obama on the box. With attendees in full-scale panic at the thought of an Obama presidency, the event takes on the feel of a two-day rally for Sarah Palin, then a candidate for the vice presidency – even though she did not attend. Speaker Sean Hannity from the Fox News Channel makes jokes about U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), who at the time was dying from an aggressive brain tumor.</p><p><strong>2009:</strong> Bryan Fischer, a staffer at the American Family Association, tells the crowd that Adolf Hitler invented the concept of separation of church and state, remarking, “Politics do not belong in the church, the church must be separate from the state – these two mottos, these two slogans…came directly from the mind of Adolf Hitler.” The balance of the event is essentially an Obama bash-a-thon, with speakers plotting with attendees to help the GOP regain control of the House and Senate.</p><p><strong>2010:</strong> Gil Mertz, an FRC staffer who serves as emcee of the event, reminds attendees that the media is present and implores them, “Don’t be the weird one.” Another speaker, an unsuccessful Alabama politician named Dale Peterson, fails to take Mertz’s advice to heart and spends several minutes explaining to reporters that Obama was not born in America and thus can’t be president. Former FRC head Gary Bauer launches into a long harangue against “The Elites,” a shadowy cabal he never quite defines. The Elites, he asserts, “treat the Constitution like toilet paper.”</p><p><strong>2011:</strong> Robert Rector, senior research fellow in domestic policy studies at the Heritage Foundation, tells the crowd that liberals hate marriage. “The left hates the institution of marriage,” he tells attendees. “They simply hate it.” Rector goes on to assert that some high schools make condoms available to students “to get gay liberation in the classrooms.” Glenn Beck advises youngsters who are too poor to go to college to study instead at public libraries. Retired Army Gen. William Boykin, lifting a page from phony historian David Barton, makes up some stuff about the Constitution, asserting that our nation’s foundational document is based on a series of colonial-era sermons. He offered no evidence for this.</p><p><strong>2012:</strong> Summiteers swallow their bigotry and line up behind GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Romney sends a video to the VVS, but his running mate, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) shows up in person to rally the troops. Ryan tells the “non-partisan” crowd, “We know what we’re up against. We know how desperate our opponents are to cling to power, but we’re ready…. Let’s get this done and elect Mitt Romney as the next president of America.” The Rev. Dan Fisher, pastor of a Baptist church in Oklahoma, tells attendees, “Friends, we’ve been lied to. We’ve been sold a bill of goods of separation of church and state, which is nothing more than a lie, twisted out of a misused phrase out of a Thomas Jefferson letter in 1802. It’s all a lie!”</p><p><strong>2013:</strong> Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon with designs on the White House, tells the crowd of about 3,000, “Obamacare is the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery. And in a way it is slavery because it’s making us subservient to the government.” Luther Strange, attorney general of Alabama, outlines how state officials can block “tyranny” by gumming up federal laws and mandates.</p><p><strong>2014:</strong> The Summit features an array of possible GOP contenders for 2016. U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), never known as a tent evangelist, tells the crowd, “What America needs is not just another politician or more promises. What America really needs is a revival!” Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin resurfaces to warn attendees, “You don’t retreat – you reload the truth.” She also attacks the occupant of “1400 Pennsylvania Avenue,” mangling the address of the White House. Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana warns about secular government, telling the crowd, “Many want us to believe that a secular society is a desirable goal. If our culture is sick, capitalism, democracy and military might will not save us. The countries of Western Europe have weakened themselves by adopting a secular worldview which pushes matter of faith to the side. I’ve got no interest in seeing America go the way of Europe.”</p><p>How they can the Summit’s leadership possibly top all of this extremism? It’s a challenge, but somehow I suspect they will.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/values-voter-summit">Values Voter Summit</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/family-research-council">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/american-family-association">American Family Association</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/robert-rector">Robert Rector</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/heritage-foundation">Heritage Foundation</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/connie-marshner">Connie Marshner</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/sarah-palin">sarah palin</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/president-barack-obama">President Barack Obama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bill-frist">Bill Frist</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tom-delay">Tom DeLay</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bryan-fischer">Bryan Fischer</a></span></div></div>Fri, 25 Sep 2015 15:00:54 +0000Rob Boston11430 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/a-decade-of-disgrace-marking-ten-years-of-the-values-voter-summit#comments‘It’s A Trap!’ Paranoid FRC Head Buys Into Ridiculous Ahmed Mohamed Bomb Plot Scenariohttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/it-s-a-trap-paranoid-frc-head-buys-into-ridiculous-ahmed-mohamed-bomb-plot
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">It’s obvious that Perkins and his ilk don’t care for any religious viewpoint that isn’t their own, and Muslims are an easy target because of current world events.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>The Family Research Council’s (FRC) <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/unfantastic-five-a-remembrance-of-values-voter-summits-past">annual Values Voter Summit</a> (VVS) will be held this weekend in Washington, D.C., and it seems FRC President Tony Perkins is <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/tony-perkins-agrees-caller-worrying-ahmed-mohamed-could-blow-white-house">getting a head start on that gathering’s indulgence in Islamophobia</a>.</p><p>During Perkins’ radio show on Monday, he claimed Islam should not receive the same First Amendment protections that Christianity (and all religions) has in the United States.</p><p>That’s bad enough, but then Perkins really went off the rails when he began discussing the controversy surrounding <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/16/us/texas-student-ahmed-muslim-clock-bomb/">the flap over Ahmed Mohamed</a>, a Texas teenager who was detained and interrogated because authorities thought he made a fake bomb – it was really a clock – and brought it to his public school to show a teacher. Mohamed was later released without any charges being filed.</p><p>“Often times, and I’m not saying that this is the case with Ahmed in Irving, Texas, I am just saying that this is how they operate, is that you will sometimes see terrorists come in and do a dry run to see where the security lapses are and what the responses are and they will just test the systems, again I’m not saying what happened here, but it could have been and you wouldn’t know unless you began asking questions and you began to investigate,” Perkins speculated. (Thanks to Right Wing Watch for the audio).</p><p>Even though Perkins tried to make it appear he wasn’t accusing Mohamed of doing a test run for terrorists, he clearly suggested Mohamed performed a dry run for terrorists. He made these accusations without even a shred of evidence, other than the fact that Mohamed is a Muslim and some Muslims are terrorists, therefore it’s plausible in Perkins’ warped mind that Mohamed, who, by the way, is 14 and loves science so much that he wears a NASA t-shirt to school, could be a terrorist.</p><p>But Perkins didn’t stop there. He went on to wholeheartedly agree with a caller to the show who offered an absurd conspiracy theory – that Mohamed had planned all along to gain national attention by bringing a harmless device to his school so that he could later get close to powerful people, such as President Barack Obama, and do them harm. (A media firestorm ensued after a distraught Mohamed was put in handcuffs and detained, and he received an outpouring of support, <a href="http://www.popsci.com/young-inventor-ahmed-mohamed-met-googles-co-founder-heads-to-white-house">including an invitation to bring his clock to the White House</a>).</p><p>“Here in America, now we know that the radical Muslims, they’ll tie explosives to the kids, so what makes us think that they didn’t come do this?” a caller named Michael opined. “We’ve got a president that invites this child, and I’ve got nothing against this kid, the president invites him to our White House, now what if, let’s just say for example, what if this child is carrying a bomb? Is it still smart?”</p><p>Perkins responded: “I agree 100 percent with your analysis.”</p><p>It’s no surprise that Perkins willingly waded into an Islamophobic cesspool, given the prevalence of such thoughts at the VVS over which he presides every year. Last year, for example, retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Robert Dees told the summit crowd that <a href="https://au.org/church-state/november-2014-church-state/featured/vvs-at-the-nadir-of-the-summit">he has heard ev­idence of sleeper cells inside Am­erica</a> based on phone calls placed from Afghanistan to areas of the United States with large Muslim populations. (He offered no evidence that the content of the calls was sinister.)</p><p>“We have been infiltrated,” Dees blustered. “The enemy is within. I saw… cell phone calls coming from Kandahar, Afghanistan, going to places like Lackawanna, N.Y., Green­ville, N.C., Nashville, Tenn. and Dear­born, Mich. These are all Islamic sanc­tuaries in the United States within which there are fundament­alist sleeper cells.”</p><p>It’s obvious that Perkins and his ilk don’t care for any religious viewpoint that isn’t their own, and Muslims are an easy target because of current world events. And while stopping terrorism is a legitimate concern, Perkins is hoping to use fear as an excuse to limit the religious liberty of minority groups within the United States. His endgame is grabbing more power for right-wing evangelical Christians by marginalizing other groups – and he won’t stop with Islam.</p><p>Fortunately, FRC has thus far been unable to rewrite the U.S. Constitution so that Muslims are officially second-class citizens. But it will keep trying, and it’s safe to say there will be plenty of Islam bashing at the VVS all weekend long.</p><p>P.S. Americans United staffers will be attending the VVS. Scheduled speakers include GOP presidential candidates Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee, U.S. Sen Ted Cruz (R-Texas), U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and a host of others. Look for a report on “The Wall of Separation” on Monday.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tony-perkins">Tony Perkins</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/family-research-council">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/values-voter-summit">Values Voter Summit</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ahmed-mohamed">Ahmed Mohamed</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/president-barack-obama">President Barack Obama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/islam">Islam</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/muslim">Muslim</a></span></div></div>Thu, 24 Sep 2015 15:56:21 +0000Simon Brown11429 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/it-s-a-trap-paranoid-frc-head-buys-into-ridiculous-ahmed-mohamed-bomb-plot#commentsObama Administration Unveils New Regulations On Birth Control Accesshttp://www.au.org/church-state/september-2015-church-state/people-events/obama-administration-unveils-new-regulations
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>The Obama Administration recently issued the latest in a series of regulations designed to ensure that Americans have access to affordable birth control, but the move is unlikely to resolve litigation over the matter, says Americans United.</p><p>The new regulations, issued July 10, accommodate religious objections advanced by certain closely held for-profit corporations; they also finalize previous accommodations made available to religious non-profit entities, such as religiously affiliated colleges and universities. The new rules go beyond what is required by court decisions, but that’s unlikely to placate bosses who are determined to curtail women’s access to birth control.</p><p>“I blame this mess on the Supreme Court,” said Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, in a press statement. “Although these accommodations preserve women’s access to contraception, the definition of religious freedom adopted by the high court in the <em>Hobby Lobby</em> case has spawned new legal challenges that put American women at risk.”</p><p>The <em>Burwell v.</em> <em>Hobby Lobby</em> ruling, issued in 2014, permits certain for-profit businesses to refuse to include contraceptives in employee health-care plans if employers disagree with it on religious grounds. The case concerned a chain of craft stores whose fundamentalist owners insist, incorrectly, that certain types of birth control cause abortion.</p><p>“The administration had to respond to this ruling, and today’s regulations are a good-faith effort to protect women,” Lynn said. “Although I hope I’m proven wrong, I fear that the Religious Right and its allies, the Catholic bishops, won’t stop until they have denied access to safe and affordable birth control to as many women as possible.”</p><p>Indeed, the Becket Fund, a Religious Right legal group that has been a leading critic of the administration’s birth control policy, wasted no time blasting the new regulations. The group represents the Little Sisters of the Poor, an organization of Roman Catholic nuns who run nursing homes for the elderly.</p><p>Most of the employees who work at the Little Sisters’ nursing homes are not nuns, and they come from various religious backgrounds. Nevertheless, the nuns objected to filling out a short form stating their objection to contraceptives. (Once that form is submitted, the government takes care of the rest in order to make contraceptives available to the nonprofit’s employees).</p></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">People &amp; Events</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice">Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice in the Workplace</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/outside-workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice-including-military-prisons">Institutional Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice (Including Military, Prisons &amp; Healthcare)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-refusals-and-rfra">Religious Refusals and RFRA</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/reproductive-health-conscience-clauses-for-religious-objectors">Reproductive Health &amp; Conscience Clauses for Religious Objectors</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-11349" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.au.org/files/styles/cs_cover_thumbnail/public/CS%20Cover%20sept%202015.png?itok=b9zQ-LV7" width="75" height="96" alt="" /></div></div></div> </div>
<h2><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state">
The <span class="cs-month field">September</span> <span class="cs-year field"><span class="date-display-single">2015</span></span> issue of <em>Church &amp; State</em>
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/featured/atheists-excluded">Atheists Excluded</a></h3>
<h4>Americans United And Allies Sue To Bring Real Inclusion To A Florida County’s Invocation Policy</h4> </div>
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/featured/mad-men">Mad Men</a></h3>
<h4>If The Religious Right Has Its Way, The Supreme Court&#039;s Historic Ruling On Marriage Won&#039;t Be The Last Word</h4> </div>
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/featured/protecting-thy-neighbor">Protecting Thy Neighbor</a></h3>
<h4>New Americans United Project Aims To Reclaim Religious Liberty From Zealots Of The Religious Right</h4> </div>
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/featured/special-book-excerpt-a-little-list">Special Book Excerpt: A Little List</a></h3>
<h4>Ten Reasons Not To Trust The Religious Right</h4> </div>
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/featured/americans-united-in-action">Americans United in Action</a></h3>
<h4>Staff Members and Activists Support Church-State Separation Nationwide</h4> </div>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/editorial/a-cardinal-mistake-nyc-prelate-tries-to-smear">A Cardinal Mistake: NYC Prelate Tries To Smear Americans United</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/editorial/time-for-a-hard-truth-the-religious-right-lost-on">Time For A Hard Truth: The Religious Right Lost On Marriage Equality</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/viewpoint/persecution-hogwash">Persecution? Hogwash!</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/perspective/god-and-government-a-new-book-that-trumps-the">God And Government: A New Book That Trumps The Religious Right</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/anti-marriage-equality-resolution-pushed-in">Anti-Marriage Equality Resolution Pushed In House</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/colo-church-to-cease-public-school">Colo. Church To Cease Public School Proselytizing</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/wisc-legislators-expand-voucher-program">Wisc. Legislators Expand Voucher Program</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/court-rejects-mich-catholic-hospital-policy">Court Rejects Mich. Catholic Hospital Policy Suit </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/miss-public-school-fined-for-violation-of">Miss. Public School Fined For Violation Of Prayer Order</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/court-says-del-may-enforce-election-law">Court Says Del. May Enforce Election Law</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/texas-supreme-court-hears-cheerleaders-case">Texas Supreme Court Hears Cheerleaders Case</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/around-the-world-sudanese-christians-may-be">Around The World: Sudanese Christians May Be Lashed Over Clothing</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/people-events/okla-supreme-court-nixes-capitol-display-of">Okla. Supreme Court Nixes Capitol Display Of Ten Commandments </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/people-events/obama-administration-unveils-new-regulations">Obama Administration Unveils New Regulations On Birth Control Access</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/people-events/james-dunn-baptist-champion-of-religious">James Dunn, Baptist Champion Of Religious Liberty, Dead At 83 </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/people-events/wash-emergency-birth-control-regs-upheld-by">Wash. Emergency Birth Control Regs Upheld By Federal Appeals Court </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/people-events/private-group-purchases-calif-cross-to-end">Private Group Purchases Calif. Cross To End Lawsuit Over Religious Display</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/people-events/insurance-company-doesn-t-have-to-cover">Insurance Company Doesn’t Have To Cover Liberty U In Kidnapping Case, Court Says</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/september-2015-church-state/people-events/vouchers-are-struck-down-in-colo-but-upheld">Vouchers Are Struck Down In Colo. But Upheld By N.C. High Court </a></span> </div></li>
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</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/hhs-mandate">HHS mandate</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/us-department-of-health-and-human-services">U.S. Department of Health and Human Services</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/department-health-and-human-services">Department of Health and Human Services</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/affordable-care-act">Affordable Care Act</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/obama-administration">Obama Administration</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/president-barack-obama">President Barack Obama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/barack-obama">Barack Obama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/burwell-v-hobby-lobby-stores">Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores</a></span></div></div>Tue, 01 Sep 2015 18:26:54 +0000Timothy Ritz11370 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/church-state/september-2015-church-state/people-events/obama-administration-unveils-new-regulations#commentsDown With Discrimination: Broad Coalition Of 130 Organizations Asks President Obama To End Taxpayer-Funded Discriminationhttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/down-with-discrimination-broad-coalition-of-130-organizations-asks
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">A faith-based organization that receives government funds to provide secular social services can exclude qualified candidates from jobs that their tax money subsidizes simply because they are not the &#039;right&#039; religion. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>President Barack Obama’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/civil-rights/discrimination">White House website</a> stresses that he is a civil rights president who is “leading the fight to protect everyone – no matter who you are, where you’re from, what you look like, or who you love.” Yet, the president continues to enforce a policy that allows taxpayer-funded religious discrimination. This troubling policy allows faith-based organizations to take government funds to perform social services for the public and ignore laws that prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of religion.</p><p>As explained <a href="http://bit.ly/1TU7aEq">in a letter sent today</a> by 130 national organizations to Obama, “If left in place, the [policy] will tarnish the legacy of your work to advance fairness and equal treatment under the law for all Americans.” </p><p>Americans United joined this <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/progressive-groups-ask-obama-to-end-bush-era-religious-prote?utm_term=.dnG6QO3nD#.ig4L0Rjw2B">unprecedented coalition</a> to ask Obama to finally end this deeply harmful policy. The coalition includes religious groups (like the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, Union for Reform Judaism, and the United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society), reproductive rights groups (like Planned Parenthood and NARAL), LGBT rights groups (like HRC and Lambda Legal), civil rights groups (like the NAACP, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, ACLU, and Anti-Defamation League), and women’s groups (like NOW and the YWCA USA).</p><p>Today’s letter urges the president to ensure that a <a href="http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/olc/opinions/2007/06/31/worldvision.pdf">poorly reasoned legal memo</a> issued by the George W. Bush administration is reviewed and reconsidered. Back in 2007, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) reached the flawed conclusion that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), a 1993 federal law intended to protect the religious freedom of those who follow minority religions, grants faith-based organizations that take government funds a broad exemption from anti-discrimination laws.</p><p>This means that a faith-based organization that receives government funds to provide secular social services can exclude qualified candidates from jobs that their tax money subsidizes simply because they are not the “right” religion. Just last year, the Obama Administration explained that this policy applies to social services provided with funding from the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). As a result, even though the VAWA statute explicitly prohibits it, faith-based organizations can discriminate on the basis of religion in hiring.</p><p>But it even goes beyond that. <a href="http://www.usccb.org/about/general-counsel/rulemaking/upload/02-20-15-comments-UM.pdf">Some groups are actually citing this 2007 OLC memo</a> to claim that they can take government money to provide social services and yet refuse to provide the very services they are supposed to provide because they have religious objections. They specifically argued that they should not have to provide appropriate medical care to unaccompanied immigrant children who have suffered sexual abuse. </p><p>And, some have cited this OLC Memo to argue that RFRA should broadly exempt religiously affiliated contractors from the nondiscrimination requirements in Executive Order 11246, first signed by President Lyndon Johnson and amended last year by Obama to protect LGBT employees. They argue that they should be able to discriminate against LGBT workers and their families, even though it is plainly forbidden. </p><p>It is somewhat shocking that the president has allowed this policy of discrimination to stand.</p><p>While on the campaign trail in Zanesville, Ohio, in 2008, Obama indicated that he would seek to repeal the Bush-era policies that permit taxpayer-funded discrimination, including the 2007 legal memo. He said: “If you get a federal grant, you can’t use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help and you can’t discriminate against them – or against the people you hire – on the basis of their religion.”</p><p>In March, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest expressed concern about a state RFRA bill because it “could reasonably be used to try to justify discriminating against somebody” which is “not consistent with our values as a country that we hold dear.” Yet, the president stands by the OLC Memo, which interprets RFRA to allow taxpayer-funded organizations to discriminate even where a statute forbids it.</p><p>It’s safe to say the OLC memo is not in line with the values of equality and fairness that the president and his press secretary have espoused.</p><p>We hope that the president listens to the 130 national organizations that urge him to overturn this policy. </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers">The Faith-Based Initiative &amp; Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providers</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/president-barack-obama">President Barack Obama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/president-george-w-bush">President George W. Bush</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-based-hiring-discrimination">Faith-based hiring discrimination</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-based-initiative">faith-based initiative</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/baptist-joint-committee">Baptist Joint Committee</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/union-for-reform-judaism">Union for Reform Judaism</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/aclu">ACLU</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/naacp">NAACP</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/naral-human-rights-campaign">NARAL&lt; Human Rights Campaign</a></span></div></div>Thu, 20 Aug 2015 13:40:44 +0000Rob Boston11336 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/down-with-discrimination-broad-coalition-of-130-organizations-asks#commentsRegulations For Partnerships Between Government And Faith-Based Groups Are A Positive Step, Americans United Sayshttp://www.au.org/media/press-releases/regulations-for-partnerships-between-government-and-faith-based-groups-are-a
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Proposed regulations released today by nine federal agencies will bring about necessary reforms to the rules that apply to partnerships between the government and faith-based social-services providers, Americans United for Separation of Church and State says.</p><p><a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/08/05/promoting-common-ground-reforms-social-service-partnerships" target="_blank">The regulations</a> are the culmination of years of work by religious freedom advocates and efforts over the last seven years by the Obama administration to reform the “faith-based” initiative, which was adopted by the George W. Bush administration. They will implement the key religious-liberty protections in President Barack Obama’s Executive Order 13559 from 2010. The regulations are generally in line with that executive order.</p><p>“When you decide to apply for government funds to deliver social services, there are strings attached,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “These proposed regulations should go a long way toward ensuring that taxpayer-funded organizations abide by the Constitution. By doing so, the regulations will ensure those who seek services won’t be kicked out of a homeless shelter or a drug treatment class because they don’t want to pray or listen to preaching.”</p><p>Americans United believes the regulations will provide improved religious-freedom protections for the beneficiaries of social-services programs, greater clarity to faith-based social service providers about their responsibilities and increased transparency to the taxpayer. All three are important steps toward ensuring that the First Amendment is respected when the U.S. government partners with religiously affiliated organizations.</p><p>The most significant changes in these proposed regulations are the religious-liberty protections for beneficiaries of social-service programs. Under the proposal, for example, those receiving social services must be given written notice of their religious-liberty rights not to be discriminated against in taxpayer-funded programs on the basis of religion, a religious belief, a refusal to hold a religious belief or a refusal to attend or participate in a religious practice. </p><p>Lynn, who was part of a diverse task force that offered advice to the White House on how it should reform the rules that apply to these government partnerships, added that he is pleased the group’s recommendations were adopted and said he hopes there will be widespread support for these new religious-liberty protections.</p><p>While the proposed regulations are an improvement, they do not solve all the problems associated with the rules that govern the partnerships between government and faith-based social service providers. In particular, the Obama administration decided not to address the issues of federally funded religious hiring discrimination in the executive order or these proposed regulations. Therefore, the Obama administration still enforces Bush administration rules allowing faith-based organizations that get government grants and contracts to provide social services to reject qualified job applicants on religious grounds to work in those taxpayer-funded programs.</p><p>“We look forward to reviewing the proposed regulations thoroughly and providing comments on them,” said Americans United Legislative Director Maggie Garrett. “We anticipate the regulations will faithfully implement the Executive Order. And by doing so, they will surely improve President Obama’s religious-liberty record.”</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers">The Faith-Based Initiative &amp; Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providers</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-prison-programs">Faith-Based Prison Programs</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-government-subsidies-religious-institutions-not-including-schools">Other Government Subsidies of Religious Institutions</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice">Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice in the Workplace</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/outside-workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice-including-military-prisons">Institutional Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice (Including Military, Prisons &amp; Healthcare)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-refusals-and-rfra">Religious Refusals and RFRA</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-based-initiative">faith-based initiative</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/office-of-faith-based-and-neighborhood-partnerships">Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/white-house">White House</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/religious-liberty">Religious Liberty</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/president-barack-obama">President Barack Obama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/barack-obama">Barack Obama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/executive-order">executive order</a></span></div></div><h3 >Proposals Will Implement Important Religious-Liberty Protections, Says Church-State&nbsp;Watchdog</h3>Wed, 05 Aug 2015 14:42:26 +0000Timothy Ritz11312 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/media/press-releases/regulations-for-partnerships-between-government-and-faith-based-groups-are-a#commentsObama Says Religion Can Fight Povertyhttp://www.au.org/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/obama-says-religion-can-fight-poverty
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>President Barack Obama urged faith groups to “speak out” in a “more forceful fashion” on the subject of poverty and argued that there is a “transformative power” in religion to help low-income people during a May 12 discussion at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.</p><p>The event was part of a three-day symposium hosted by the university’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life and the National Association of Evangelicals, reported Religion News Service. About 700 people attended the symposium, which promised attendees a faith-based look at pressing social issues.</p><p>During his time as president, Obama has come under fire from First Amendment advocates due to his decision to continue the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. According to critics, this office blurs the separation of church and state by providing public funding to faith-based groups for certain projects, although certain restrictions apply.</p><p>Obama appeared on the panel alongside Robert Putnam, author of <em>Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis </em>and Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute and author of <em>The Conservative Heart: How to Build a Fairer, Happier and More Prosperous America</em>.</p><p>“We have a commitment to the teaching of the Savior,” said Brooks, who is a conservative Catholic. He added that poor people “are not liabilities to manage; they are assets to develop. They are human capital.”</p></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">AU Bulletin</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers">The Faith-Based Initiative &amp; Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providers</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-11219" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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The <span class="cs-month field">July/August</span> <span class="cs-year field"><span class="date-display-single">2015</span></span> issue of <em>Church &amp; State</em>
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/featured/founded-on-faith">Founded On Faith?</a></h3>
<h4>As Denominational Ties In The United States Fray, The Religious Right Clings To The Idea That The United States Is An Officially ‘Christian Nation’</h4> </div>
<div class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even">
<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/featured/operation-exclusion">Operation Exclusion?</a></h3>
<h4>A Misguided Belief In ‘Christian Nation’ Theology Spurs N.C. County Officials To Exclude Minorities From Public Prayers</h4> </div>
<div class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd">
<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/featured/the-invention-of-a-christian-america">The Invention Of A Christian America</a></h3>
<h4>Scholar Steven K. Green Explores The Origins Of The ‘Christian Nation’ Myth</h4> </div>
<div class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even views-row-last">
<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/featured/au-in-action">AU In Action</a></h3>
<h4>Staff Members And Chapter Activists Spread The Word About Church-State Separation</h4> </div>
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<div class="cs-department" id="section-perspective"> <h3>Perspective</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/perspective/a-scottish-ramble-in-europe-anti-lgbt-animus">A Scottish Ramble: In Europe, Anti-LGBT Animus Gives Up The Ghost</a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div><div class="cs-department" id="section-people--events"> <h3>People &amp; Events</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/people-events/colo-teacher-says-religious-activity-is">Colo. Teacher Says Religious Activity Is Rampant In Public School District</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/people-events/around-the-world-israeli-soldier-avoids-jail">Around The World: Israeli Soldier Avoids Jail For Ham Sandwich</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/people-events/supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-muslim-in">Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Muslim In Headscarf Case </a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/people-events/with-au-s-help-nj-woman-s-lawsuit-over">With AU’s Help, N.J. Woman’s Lawsuit Over License Plate Advances</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-5 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/people-events/au-wins-another-round-in-legal-battle-with">AU Wins Another Round In Legal Battle With Notre Dame Over Birth Control Access </a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-6 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/people-events/voters-in-ireland-rebuff-church-with-vote-in">Voters In Ireland Rebuff Church With Vote In Favor Of Marriage Equality</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-7 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/people-events/mo-church-can-t-demand-to-take-part-in-state">Mo. Church Can’t Demand To Take Part In State Aid Program, Court Says</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-8 views-row-even views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/people-events/montana-school-cancels-field-trip-to">Montana School Cancels Field Trip To Creationist Ministry After AU Complaint </a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div><div class="cs-department" id="section-editorial"> <h3>Editorial</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/editorial/the-christian-nation-myth-a-pernicious-claim">The ‘Christian Nation’ Myth: A Pernicious Claim That Needs To Die For Good </a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div><div class="cs-department" id="section-au-bulletin"> <h3>AU Bulletin</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/obama-says-religion-can-fight-poverty">Obama Says Religion Can Fight Poverty</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/nc-legislature-votes-to-override-veto-of-anti">N.C. Legislature Votes To Override Veto Of Anti-Gay Bill</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/va-county-loses-sectarian-prayer-fight">Va. County Loses Sectarian Prayer Fight</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/w-va-lawsuit-claims-evolution-is-religious">W. Va. Lawsuit Claims Evolution Is Religious Doctrine</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-5 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/nevada-passes-sweeping-school-choice-law">Nevada Passes Sweeping School Choice Law</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-6 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/activist-says-la-public-schools-teach">Activist Says La. Public Schools Teach Creationism</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-7 views-row-odd views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/ny-governor-pushes-school-tax-credit-plan">N.Y. Governor Pushes School Tax Credit Plan </a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div><div class="cs-department" id="section-books--ideas"> <h3>Books &amp; Ideas</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/books-ideas/one-nation-under-god">One Nation Under God:</a></span> </div></li>
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</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/president-barack-obama">President Barack Obama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/office-of-faith-based-and-neighborhood-partnerships">Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships</a></span></div></div>Wed, 01 Jul 2015 09:00:00 +0000Timothy Ritz11227 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/church-state/julyaugust-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/obama-says-religion-can-fight-poverty#comments